If you’re trying to figure out what to watch next on Netflix, here’s a great place to start with a look at the 50 Best TV series on the streaming service.

BBC

50. Broadchurch (1 of 1 seasons) — A couple of years ago, Broadchurch was the most popular show of all time on social media in the United Kingdom, and for good reason: It was a terrific, dark and bleak whodunnit about the mystery behind the murder of a small boy in a quiet, seaside town in the UK. David Tennant was so great in it he reprised his role in the little seen and cancelled Fox adaptation of the show, Gracepoint. But it’s 2014 — you don’t need to watch the watered-down broadcast network remake. You can watch the original on Netflix.

FX

49. Sons of Anarchy (6 of 7 seasons) — Seasons three to five were wildly inconsistent, but the first two seasons were some of the most intense and violent television you’ll ever watch (as was the sixth season). Described early on as The Sopranos with motorcycles, Sons is an intermittently great show, although it’s clusterf*ck of a final season (which hasn’t yet been added to Netflix) is why Sons appears so low on the list.

FXX

48. The League (5 of 6 seasons) — A combination of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm and fantasy football, it’s not as funny as Sunny, but it’s also not as misanthropic as Curb. It’s awkward humor that never feels uncomfortable, and features in a recurring role the best comedy character on television right now that’s not Ron Swanson: Jason Mantzoukas’ Rafi.

ABC

47. Scandal (3 of 4 seasons) — Watching the first two seasons of Scandal, you can’t help but feel like the outlandish, bonkers plotlines will eventually stretch themselves too far, and that does happen, but not until season three. The first two seasons, however, are insane and wildly addictive, the exact kind of show that works best on a streaming service like Netflix, because it’s impossible not to want to plow through to find out what crazy plot twist will consume the show next.

The CW

46. Arrow (2 of 3 seasons) — Arrow may not get the attention of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, but it is the best superhero TV series on the air right now. It’s a potent combination of dark but attractive characters, addictive serialized storylines and villains of the week, and an attractive cast buoyed by one of the coolest guys on television, Stephen Amell. Forty-four episodes may seem daunting, but they go down quickly and sweetly, like candy.

IFC

45. Top of the Lake (1 of 1 seasons) — The six-episode Elisabeth Moss drama — which can best be described as a cross between Twin Peaks and The Killing — is an engrossing miniseries that follows the investigation of a missing girl and her f***ed up, drug-dealing incestuous family, who are accused of being behind the kidnapping. The Jane Campion series is slow-burning, but engrossing television, and features phenomenal performances all around, especially that of Moss.

FOX

44. Fringe (5 of 5 seasons) — The first of several J.J. Abrams created series on this list, and yet another J.J. Abrams series that had terrific runs, and dismal ones. Fringe was brilliant, except when it wasn’t, and while it pushed the boundaries of sci-fi, it often overstepped its limits (SOUL MAGNETS). Still, even when the series wasn’t entirely up to snuff, John Noble was always around, and never failed to enliven each and every episode.

USA

43. Psych (8 of 8 seasons) — Still another series that was absolutely brilliant for several seasons, and then ran out of steam. The comedy procedural works best when it’s riffing on other genres (and in particular, the 80s/early 90s), but the chemistry between Shawn and Gus never wears thin, even when the writing and the case work often does.

FX

42. Damages (5 of 5 season) — Created by Todd Kessler — a writer on The Sopranos — the Glenn Close character is actually based on David Chase, and if the character is any indication, Chase was a monster to work for. Each season centers around one major case, and the quality of the show depends on the season (one and five are the best). That said, Glenn Close is ruthless, brutal, and brilliant throughout, and Rose Byrne is not bad either, plus the series fetched some of the best recurring characters you’re likely to see on television (including John Goodman, Chris Messina, and Timothy Olyphant, among many others).

Showtime

41. Dexter (8 of 8 seasons)– Michael C. Hall is absolutely terrific as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police department, who moonlights as a serial killer trying to keep his two lives separate. There’s a great opening season, a fantastic fourth season, and in between the two, a couple of decent ones. Do yourself a favor, however, and don’t bother with the final four seasons. It’s a testament to how good the first and fourth seasons were that it still gains a place upon this list, despite one of the worst final seasons in television history.

NBC

40. Cheers (11 of 11 seasons) — One of television’s all-time best sitcoms, Cheers is one of the most relaxed, amusing, and warm sitcoms you could ever have the privilege of watching. It may feel a little dated now, especially if you’re not a fan of laugh tracks, but the warmth of the series is timeless.

NBC

39. Quantum Leap (5 of 5 seasons) — The first season is kind of a bear to get through because the production values were so low, but once Quantum Leap finds its feet, it’s one of the most enjoyable sci-fi series you’ll ever watch. It’s certainly got an 80s quality to it, but it is comfort television at its best, even if the finale was on the disappointing side.

FOX

38. Family Guy (12 of 13 seasons) — The Seth MacFarlane animated series is not exactly the kind of show you binge watch (there are 237 episodes, so far), but it’s hilarious background TV for while you’re doing the laundry, getting over a hangover, or trying to kill a few brain cells after work. But don’t lower your expectations too much: There’s also some sharp and biting social commentary in between all the dick jokes.

ABC

37. Alias (5 of 5 seasons) — Before Lost but after Felicity, J.J. Abrams gave us the action-packed conspiracy theory drama Alias, which he initially described as an ass-kicking Felicity (it was nothing like that). Jennifer Garner was fantastic in the lead, and the storylines were immensely compelling… for a while. The first two seasons are outstanding, the second two season were pretty good, and the final season was a big bowl of butt. Throughout, however, Garner’s costume changes were always worth tuning in for.

CBS

36. How I Met Your Mother (9 of 9 seasons) — Another up-and-down series that started off as a cute sitcom with a semi-interesting premise that hit its stride for about five seasons, and struggled through its later seasons once the premise had completely run its course and the narrating character became a completely insufferable douche. Still, even in the later seasons, How I Met Your Mother has enough moments to keep you chugging along, even if it’s often only background noise. That series finale, on the other hand, oof. They did not stick the landing.

IFC

35. Portlandia (3 of 4 seasons) — It helps if you’ve lived in and/or been to Portland, and like most sketch comedy, Portlandia is wildly hit and miss, but the hits are often huge, and the misses are easy enough to fast-forward through. It’s clever and strangely understated for sketch comedy, and although it works best as a send-up of Portland, the absurdist comedy is still effective outside of the northwest.

Fox

34. New Girl (3 of 4 seasons) — After a shaky start that focused too much on Zooey Deschanel and her quirks, the series found its stride in the middle of the first season, as it turned into an ensemble comedy and, by the second season, blossomed into one of the best sitcoms on television. It’s faltered some in its third season before recovering some in the current fourth season, but that second season is one of the best-ever years of comedy. Thanks to Schmidt and Nick, it’s also one of the most GIFable shows around.

FXX

33. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (9 of 9 seasons) — Take the misanthropy of Seinfeld and triple it, then triple it again, and you’ve basically set the tone for It’s Always Sunny, the wildly brilliant sitcom from FX (now FXX) that seems to be fueled by insanely hilarious minds that have been warped by paint huffing. When the series is on — and it often is — nothing on television is funnier, raunchier, and more awesomely offensive.

ABC

32. Lost (6 of 6 season) — If you like mysteries and lots and lots of questions, but don’t care about satisfying answers to those questions, Lost is basically the best drama of all time. For much of its run, it was the best thing going on network television: suspenseful and completely engrossing. Unfortunately, there’s that ending, that kind of undid much of the series’ greatness. Bygones. It’s still an outstanding journey, even if the destination is not up to the standards of the rest of the series.

NBC

31. Parenthood (4 of 5 seasons)– It helps if you’re a parent to relate to some of the plotlines, but even if you’re not, Friday Night Light’s showrunner Jason Katims brings the same brand of naturalistic, heartfelt drama he displayed in Friday Night Lights to the tender and frequently emotional Parenthood. Great ensemble, although the show is often given to sentiment, which is good or bad, depending on who you are.

ABC

30. The Wonder Years (6 of 6 seasons) — The only reason why the coming-of-age series set in the 60s — and one of my all-time favorite shows — did not make the top 25 is because much of the wonder has been taken out of the series on Netflix, as it’s missing many of the original songs (including the theme song) due to licensing issues. The music was a huge part of the show, although the absence of the original songs doesn’t completely diminish the power of the series, which tackles not only the relationship between Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper, but heavier issues like the Vietnam War, and the cultural clashes between conservative 60s parents and their more liberal, hippie offspring. The series finale is still one of television’s best all-time episodes.

Fox

29. Raising Hope (4 of 4 seasons) — Greg Garcia’s sitcom began as a hilarious, and often spot-on comedic exploration of a lower, lower middle class family raising a child together, but over the course of the series, as it improved, its focus shifted more toward the show’s two best assets, Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt, the latter of whom is the most unexpectedly hilarious guy in TV. Raising Hope is clever, heartfelt, and creative in incredibly surprising ways.

Netflix

28. House of Cards (2 of 2 seasons) — Netflix’s first major foray into original programming was worth every cent of its $100 million production budget, featuring searing performances, a droll sense of humor, slick writing, engrossing plotlines, and Kevin Spacey chewing the face off the scenery. The first season is phenomenal, though the second is very fat around the middle and begins to wane near the end.

AMC

27. The Walking Dead (4 of 5 seasons) — Currently, the highest rated scripted series on cable television, The Walking Dead is an up-and-down series. When it’s good, it’s phenomenal; when it’s not, it can be a boring slog (especially in the earlier half of the series, when Frank Darabont was showrunner). Greg Nicotero does fantastic FX work, and the series is particularly compelling because no one — no matter how high they are listed in the credits — is safe from the zombie apocalypse, and the showrunners seem to relish in killing off cast members. Some of the binge-watching value, however, is lost because it’s so difficult to avoid being spoiled to plot points of one of the most talked about series on TV.

FX

26. Terriers (1 of 1 seasons) — Not that it doesn’t already get mentioned enough around here, it always bears repeating: Terriers is terrific, a funny, engrossing, and entertaining private eye drama starring Donal Logue that never should’ve been cancelled. In a just world, Terriers is now entering its fifth season. But even in this unjust world, season one should not be missed.

Except everyone always has to say to stick with The Wire after the first few episodes, then it starts to get really good. Breaking Bad hooks you immediately and never lets up. Therefore, it is the better show. And yes, it’s dumb to argue about “the best” of anything.

So something that takes a bit of involvement and patience from a viewer is automatically worse than the alternative? I disagree there. Although I really don’t get that about The Wire, me and all my buddies were hooked on the first episode. And yes, I do agree that it’s dumb to argue, but if it was objective no one would be making lists in the first place.

Rewatching The Wire right now. It is pretty amazing. I think the dock season (season 2) gets unfairly treated. The introduction of Prop Joe, Brother Mouzzone, and The Greek… its is a good season that I think gets better upon 2nd (or 3rd) viewing. The fake serial killer on the other hand…. still, season for season, you can’t go wrong with The Wire or Breaking Bad.

I think the reason the dock season gets a bad rap is that it represented a wholesale change in characters and story telling focus, which was something that I, as a viewer, was not prepared for the first time around. I invested heavily in watching season 1, got comfortable with the plot lines and characters, and then came season 2 and “Who the hell are *these* guys?” That was a new experience for many viewers.

Of course, later, we’d expect that kind of thing with every new season, but season 2 was jarring in its change of focus.

hey El Cunado – are you kidding me?? The first/pilot episode of BB is without question the most exciting, edge of your seat, “I’m-hooked-on-this-show-for-life” episode ever created. It’s a steam roller from the first minute to the last

To the person who commented that you don’t have to slog through BB: Are you fucking kidding me? The first season and a half are garbage compared to the rest of the show. When I recommend BB I always say, “look, after episode 4 or 5 of season 2 it sinks its claws in and never lets go. Don’t give up before that.”

@Hef exactly!! I have uttered these same words because regular people give up way before they get that far.
Also, silly misstep at the end of this list to say there is no debate about if it’s the best of all time, just a rookie mistake as has been said a lot in this subthread.

@feck99 … I am absolutely not kidding. It starts out intriguingly enough. Then the middle 30 minutes is a montage of “he has cancer and it’s so depressing.” I fell asleep twice. And I’ve yet to watch another episode, because it feels like homework. And all my friends say, “You have to stick with it. It gets much better after 4 or 5 episodes.” So I’m obviously not the only one who feels it wasn’t the greatest thing in the history of the universe from the first moment.

After re-watching The Wire, I actually really enjoyed the dock season. It explains how all the drugs enter the city in the first place. It’s already been said, but I think because it was such a drastic change from inner city ghetto to union dock workers, people flipped before giving it a fair chance.

Rewatched Deadwood on HBO Go recently (I’m on a kick of re-watching HBO shows). Goodness that is a great show. It is too bad it ended so abruptly. Since we seem to be all about the hyperbole here, it has THE BEST dialogue of any show I’ve ever watched.

I bought Broadchurch and will buy Gracepoint. It wasn’t watered down, if anything it was amped up and the ending was a triple twist that completely changed the narrative and subtext of the story. It made The People’s Choice long-list nomination after all, and Tennant is nominated for Best in a New Series for his role in Gracpoint for the People’s Choice. Obviously the writer didn’t watch Gracepoint. I recommend both Gracepoint and Broadchurch.

I haven’t seen Broadchurch, but I did watch Gracepoint. I can’t make a comparison, but I did enjoy it. Hard to guess the outcome because you are not given any motive for the character(s) involved, but it was an excellent show.

There’s some scattered seasons of Twilight Zone, with random episodes included (that seem to change every few months), but most of the famous ones are included (“To Serve Man”, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”).

I’d have still argued for the Wire saying that the squished screen and lack of high-def were the only thing actually deterring other viewers. But as I am now getting to experience it in HD on what is my 4th or 5th rewatch I have to say, the Wire is hands down a better show. Storylines just as tight as Breaking Bad but with more characters.

i know its cool to bag on Family Guy, or at least say “It used to be good, but now it sucks” but I’m sorry… I think it’s been very consistently funny over the years. I still DVR it today and laugh my ass off each week. I don’t think it’s really changed at all.

I’m with you on this. While it is not GoT or up there with Breaking Bad, it is a very entertaining show. As with just about any show, stick with it b/c it picks up. The fight scenes are kick ass, and the actor playing Khan (who I think is the real lead in this), turns in a great performance.

Agree 100%. If we’re putting Dexter and its 4-of-8 good seasons, I don’t see any reason not to include Supernatural and its outstanding seasons 1-5, it’s less-than-outstanding-but-still-watchable season 6, and its actually-not-so-bad seasons 7-9.

I would honestly say that the first two seasons of Dexter are the only decent ones, and to stop watching there. Everything after it is absolute shit. I fastforwarded through everything in season four except for the John Lithgow scenes. That is the only show I ever truly hate-watched, and I hate-watched it just to see how it ended. It was absolute garbage.

K. Dillington – thank you. I don’t get the Friends obsession. Sure, I watched every episode each week when it originally aired, but I don’t think it’s aged well. I just discovered “Always Sunny” and man, fucking hilarious! Gonna binge it all!

Seriously! I am rewatching it again with my wife, who has never seen it, and even the uneven second season has some interesting stuff. David Duchovny in a dress people! And it all got great at the end when Lynch came back for the finale.

Agreed. It should be waaaaay higher on this list. It’s just about the penultimate Netflix series to watch. It was built for Netflix long before binge-watching on Netflix became a thing to do. Even with it’s missteps, Lost is definitely on the Mt. Rushmore of network dramas.

That fucking Black Mirror. It kept popping up on my recommended list, so I gave it a go. I could barely make it through two episodes. It’s terrible, just the absolute worst. The gigantic, gaping plotholes I saw in those episodes were just unforgivable.

I watched all of Black Mirror, simply because the description was everything I wanted in a show. Holy crap was that a boring show. It tries so hard to be weird or ironic or something. Every episode, I thought to myself “Maybe this was an off episode.” Then I realized there were only 6, and I watched them all.

The only thing Dustin got right is BB may be the best series on Netflix. But best series of all time, non-debatable? That’s a fanboy talking. I realize his list is his opinions, but a little objectivity helps.

Thank you, I read through all these comments just make sure there was another sane person in here. Cheers should be moved to number 18 and everything else moved back. Other than that, I have no real issues with this list.

Gilmore Girls? NUMBER 14? And Always Sunny at 30-whatever is a goddamn travesty. Holy hell, you are just determined to flush this site and it’s fans right down the shitter. What you’re doing is bad and you should feel bad.

I told myself I wouldn’t get mad at the rankings….and then I went and got mad at the rankings. Orange is the New Black and Friends in the Top Ten?!! Come on, man.

Anyways, I’m gonna start up a new show. Keep in mind I am absolutely NOT a binge watcher, and I tend to like things at least somewhat quick moving. That said, this show will probably take a good 6 months-a year to finish.

I was forced to watch it and it ended up being one of my fave shows ever. The acting is great, the characters are so well written, and it has a lot of eye candy! Probably the hottest cast ever assembled (except Landry, I loved the kid, but looking at him was really painful).

I have never seen Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead ,NCIS however looks good from the few times I’v seen it so I may binge watch them sooner or later .
Not The Walking Dead however because I’m a p#ssy who doesn’t like horror stuff.

I don’t understand why they pay you dear sir, for you see not including either Miami Vice or Magnum PI on a Top 50 shows clearly indicates that you are not up to the task of writing words, or at least writing words with meaning.

There is no settling this argument but here is the best I can offer; as far as a fantastical and wild show goes Breaking Bad is the winner. But when it comes to a more real life and sadly, closer to home drama, the Wire takes it. And leave it to a show we all love to hate to put it all into perspective for us.

But the clear cut, best show on TV is Archer. No other show offers such a solid mix of highbrow and lowbrow humor, incredible action sequences, romance and loss, political intrigue and musical sequences, all done in stunning animation with some pretty amazing people backing up all the characters.

Really appreciate this list! There’s a few on there I’ve been meaning to check out (Broadchurch, Top of the Lake) – and some old favorites I’d forgotten about and want to re-watch. Hard to argue with someone’s personal rankings….

BUT FUCK FRIENDS STRAIGHT INTO A GAPING ABYSS. IT IS NOT DURABLE. IT IS SEVERELY DATED AND UN-FUNNY. IT IS THE OPPOSITE OF REWATCHABLE. I’D RATHER SIT THROUGH EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND.

@Aunt Jemima I love Dexter from Season 1-4. But I never claimed it’s my FAVORITE show. Maybe it’s the fact that I binge watched all the seasons of Breaking Bad that I came up with this opinion, but it is. I’m not saying it’s a bad show, because it is good. But I don’t understand the hype it gets.

I May be in the minority here, but the omission of Life and the ranking of Luther are criminal. Life was a solid show cut short by the writer’s strike and Luther is easily top 10, but I would put it in my top 5.

Here are a few series that people may not remember, My So Called Life was great, Strange Luck was original, The Others was very scary. Being a big syfy fan I loved the Stargate Series, specially the last one Stargate Universe. Was very sad when it was cancelled.

I was with you for the most part but I would highly disagree that “Orange is the New Black” is the best original Netflix series. Season 1 was fantastic but Season 2 took a huge nosedive whereas House of Cards has been remained an excellent series from the first episode.

Family Ties anyone? Classic 80s sitcom.
I must be one of the very few people on this planet who have never watched Breaking Bad. Just does not interest me in the slightest. Then again maybe it’s just that everyone keeps talking about how it’s the greatest all of time and that kinda makes me not want to watch it. Still haven’t seen Avatar either and I am damn proud to say that I’m not a contributor to it being the biggest box-office film in history. Again an asshole making meth doesn’t interest me, I’d rather Wonder Years, X-Files or Sunny. Hell I’d rather watch myself piss into a toilet for 45 minutes.